Warren Questions Tesla on Musk's Other Roles

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has raised concerns regarding Tesla CEO Elon Musk's potential misuse of company resources for his other ventures, including SpaceX and xAI. In a detailed 10-page letter addressed to Tesla Chairwoman Robyn Denholm, Warren accused the Tesla Board of Directors of failing to fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities to shareholders by not adequately addressing Musk's apparent conflicts of interest. This inquiry follows Warren's previous calls for investigations into Musk's actions, particularly after his significant sale of Tesla shares to finance a leveraged buyout of Twitter, now known as X. Warren's letter highlights several troubling issues, including Musk's establishment of xAI while Tesla promotes itself as an AI company, and his threats to pursue robotics and AI projects outside of Tesla unless granted greater voting control. Additionally, she pointed out Musk's encouragement for Tesla shareholders to approve a $5 billion investment in xAI and the reported diversion of Nvidia AI chips from Tesla to X. These actions have raised alarms about the integrity of Tesla's operations and governance. The senator also noted concerns about xAI's recruitment of Tesla employees and the resignation of a Tesla director, who criticized the board's management style as resembling a "family company" rather than a publicly accountable entity. Warren has requested that Tesla provide answers regarding these issues by August 23, emphasizing the need for transparency and accountability in the company's leadership. Despite Warren's ongoing correspondence, her office confirmed that Tesla and Denholm have not responded to her previous inquiries. Tesla has yet to comment on the matter.